Pet Photo Contest Winners

Here are the results of our 2011 Pet Photo Contest. With almost 7,000 entries, this was our biggest competition to date! Needless to say, narrowing the field down to the finalists shown below was exceedingly difficult! A big thank you to everyone who entered and congratulations to the winners!

Before proceeding, we would like to thank our terrific sponsors, Lensbaby, who generously donated some of the prizes. The winner and two runners-up will receive prizes as described on this page.

Winner

Our Pet Photo Contest Winner is mrgetz, well done! This image really stood out to us, even amidst strong competition. The excellent composition, original perspective and eye-catching colours all combine to create an incredible photograph. Above all, mrgetz has managed to convey the playful character of the dog, which is what we all value so highly in our pets. Congratulations!

Gimme The Ball, Gimme The Ball! by mrgetz

Runners-up

How often do you wonder what your pets get up to when you go out? Svetlana’s shot of two cats alone at home spying out the window is full of humour and plays to the curious nature of cats. Once again, the personality of the subject gives this photo its strong appeal.

Our second runner up is Emily Lodigensky. What makes Emily’s image so special is its portrayal of the connection between human and pet, to the extent that there seems to be a mutual fascination between them. The high contrast and shallow depth of field create a wonderful homely atmosphere.

Alone at Home by Svetlana Batura

“What do cats do when they stay alone at home?”

Equipment: Canon

Unusual Friends by Emily Lodigensky

“I was shooting a portrait session for my friends family of four, and miss Selah was quite taken with Rhett the fish, my studio-mates fish. There is no photo-manipulation involved beyond color filters and paint brushes, truly that fish and Selah were friends for the briefest of moments.”

Equipment: Canon MarkII 1ds

Emily Lodigensky – Co-owner of M/E Photography, located in the arts district of downtown Kansas City.
A BFA in Photography from Kansas City Art Institute.
Studied abroad in Fine Art Analysis at University of Brighton in Brighton, England.

Peter Nash – A celebrity photographer/portrait artist who moved to pooches-only after 25 years of humans. With credentials I bring my unique history to dog portraiture. My mission is to recognize and uphold my passion of natural canine beauty with a collection of classical portraiture based on the tenets of century old masterpieces. My canine subjects are not models, experts, or show dogs; they are protected creatures that I adore photographing simply for their powerful being.

“Peering precariously from a small stool in the middle of a crowded street in Hong Kong, this dog sits untouched, guarded by its owner’s warning sign.”

Equipment: Canon 1000D, 50mm f1.8

Zhi Lee – SnapMe Photography is established by Zhi Lee, known in the Auckland photography circle for bold perspectives and bringing fresh ideas to photography. Zhi enjoys capturing beautiful moments and putting a spin on it to convey the story within a story. An adrenalin junkie, it is not uncommon to find Zhi taking photos swinging from a rope.

“Ever since I found these Maneki Neko statues in China, in my mind I saw a real kitty sitting beside them on my dresser top. I cat sit for a friend recently and finally fulfilled my dream of getting this very shot… I’m pretty sure the Lucky Cats gave me the luck to get such a purrrfect snap. ;)”

Equipment: Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm 1.4 G, natural light

Kelly West Mars – Kelly West Mars is a 20-something living in South Korea by way of Virginia, USA. She is a proud Army wife, mother to a 3 year old daughter and a lifestyle photographer.

Arman Zhenikeyev – I am a photographer from Republic of Kazakhstan. I love pets. I have had one Kurzhaar dog – Dzhina. She has died last year and I’ve decided to get a new one with the same appearance. So now I’ve got Dzhina again and you can see both of them.

Peter Nash – A celebrity photographer/portrait artist who moved to pooches-only after 25 years of humans. With credentials I bring my unique history to dog portraiture. My mission is to recognize and uphold my passion of natural canine beauty with a collection of classical portraiture based on the tenets of century old masterpieces. My canine subjects are not models, experts, or show dogs; they are protected creatures that I adore photographing simply for their powerful being.

Tiffany Walczuk – I studied photography at the Art Institute of Charleston for 2 1/2 years. Right now photography is mostly a hobby but working towards being more of a career. I love animals, especially our 3 Pit Bulls and 1 Shiba Inu.

Early Morning Huntress by Garth Hurley

“Zoe likes nothing more than to harass the local pigeon population.”

Equipment: Panasonic Lumix GH1 / Pentax SMC-M 1.7 50mm

Garth Hurley – I have worked as a professional television camera operator for a number of years. Still photography is mostly an ongoing hobby of mine.

Richard Smith – Self taught photographer mainly shooting equestrian events for local Riding Clubs with interests in different disciplines of photography – Looking to get my work and name into the world and perhaps set up a full time business in the near future.

We look forward to seeing more of your wonderful pet photographs in next year’s pet photo contest. To make sure you don’t miss out, you can subscribe to our free email newsletter (or via rss) so that we can notify you when future photo contests open for entries.